


With Enough Post-its, We Can Create Our Own Sun

by Whoareyou0000



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Asexual Raphael Santiago, Awkward Romance, Canon Asexual Character, Clan Leader Raphael Santiago, Endgame Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Homoromantic Raphael Santiago, Hotel Dumort, Insecure Simon Lewis, M/M, POV Raphael Santiago, Pansexual Character, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Pre-Relationship, Protective Raphael Santiago, Raphael Santiago Deserves Nice Things, Raphael Santiago Has Feelings, Simon Lewis Lives at Hotel Dumort, Simon Lewis Loves Raphael Santiago, Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago Fluff, Soft Raphael Santiago, Soft Simon Lewis, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vampire Simon Lewis, and everyone else too - Freeform, protecting his baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27089230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whoareyou0000/pseuds/Whoareyou0000
Summary: Simon woos Raphael with a series of humorous and flirty drawings on Post-it notes to ease his stress during a tense political confrontation. Raphael, though reluctant at first, looks forward to Simon's daily surprises and eventually steps out of the closet to reveal his true feelings for the fledgling.
Relationships: Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago
Comments: 3
Kudos: 135





	With Enough Post-its, We Can Create Our Own Sun

Raphael had sensed it coming for weeks. 

It started with the Clave showing more interest, getting more involved in the clan’s business. It all felt like a bomb that finally dropped directly in the middle of his hotel with the reveal that they wanted more Downworlder involvement in the Shadowhunter’s missions. That meant more vampire deaths, because Shadowhunter’s certainly did not care about their wellbeing. It meant that Raphael’s clan, his family, was now at risk. He barely held it together, with only Simon’s calming hand on his wrist beneath the table keeping him from sending a mouthful of Spanish wrath at every one of the warmongers. He kept Simon close throughout because he knew full well that the fledgling would be considered an _acceptable loss_ by the Clave. 

That, especially, made Raphael see red. 

No amount of arguing would change their minds at that moment, though. Raphael needed a plan, backup, and time. He dragged Simon from the table at vampire speed at the first opportunity and vaguely listened to his incessant rambling all the way back to Dumort. They eventually parted upon returning to the hotel, Lily waiting to provide Simon with his training, and the fledgling touched his arm one last time with a soft smile. 

“It’ll be okay, Rafa. We’ll figure it out.” 

The clan leader spent the rest of the night and morning going over the accords in his office and after having a much-needed drink, he finally crawled into bed at well past noon and opened up The Turn of the Screw to find his valuable, antique bookmark replaced with a glaring, yellow Post-it note. An idiotic smiley face with vampire fangs, spikey brown hair, and a T-Shirt that read _Don’t Worry, Be’Yonce_ stared back. 

With a sigh and an eyeroll, because how could he be mad at such a childlike gesture, Raphael moved the note aside and read the same three paragraphs over and over for the next hour, routinely glancing back at the ridiculous drawing every few minutes. He put it back in the book before he gave in to sleep, because he had to use something to mark his spot.

……..

The next evening, Raphael, Lily, and Simon got to work. They pulled Luke and Magnus in, as the wolves and warlocks had grown equally concerned with the Clave’s imperative, and discussed methods of preventing their annihilation while still maintaining peace. At the end of the night, they had a solid plan for their next meeting.

Raphael had hope when he cracked open his novel that morning and noticed that it’d happened again. This time the Simon-Smiley face winked at another equally round vampire drawn to the right. This one had a single, mated eyebrow and a slight frown with just the corner of the lip turned up beside a fang. Its black hair swiped slickly to the side and it wore a smoothed down collar with a cross just beneath. Raphael stared at it for several moments, as if expecting it to mirror his facial ticks, before shaking his head fondly and dragging a thumb pad across the smooth face of the happy vamp. 

“Fledgling.” 

He read another few pages that morning, with none of it sticking in his mind as well as the beaming Post-it that he moved from page to page with his progress. That day, Raphael dreamed of a laughing Simon-Smiley with big brown eyes.

……..

Raphael called the meeting with the Clave for the following night.

He and Simon used the remaining moonlit hours to practice, go over talking points, and prepare for and answer any questions that could likely come up during the debate. Simon proved to be a worthy opponent, thinking one step ahead of Raphael and always willing to challenge him with a mixture of wit and knowledge. The youngest vampire had picked up a lot in his near-six months as a fledgling, far more than Raphael realized until that moment, and he lived up to his new, maybe somewhat made-up in the moment, title. Raphael left Simon that night with a squeeze of his shoulder and a whisper in his ear. _Well done, baby._

He almost expected it, dared to hope. He’d even stayed away for an hour, gave Simon time. He worried that if he caught the fledgling in the act, then he might stop. Raphael decided that it was okay if he didn’t stop. It’s not as if the notes hurt anyone, after all, and his antique bookmark had begun to fall apart anyway. 

Raphael’s legs returned him to his suite and he quickly changed into his pajamas, the book always in his indirect vision. Then he marched straight for it and opened it to the marked page to find the Post-it vampires smiling back. This time blood droplets, drawn in red pen, stained the corners of both of their mouths. Two glasses stood in front of them, also filled with red, and a thought bubble above the Simon-Smiley held a few, unspoken words.

_...He’s handsome and funny. I’d like to buy him a drink..._

Raphael immediately and loudly slammed the book shut. He looked around the room, almost expecting Simon to jump out from behind the curtains and yell “Boo!” in his childish way. There was nothing, though, and no one. Just Raphael, his book, and a proposition. 

He spent the rest of the morning staring at the Post-it with a pen in hand, his fingers trembling every time they neared the note. In the end he left the drawing alone and carefully placed the book upon the table, unread.

……..

The next night brought a hurricane of activity.

Raphael stated his demands to the Clave at the meeting, along with a thinly veiled threat to the _natural order of things_ if Downworlder lives became mundane fodder. Those in power grimaced and pursed their lips a lot and then excused themselves for a private discussion. During that break, Simon stayed glued to Raphael, a common occurrence when surrounded by those who could be considered their enemies. He remained unusually quiet, showing his support through casual touches and sideways grins, but always averting his eyes. He left Raphael’s side as soon as the verdict came back in their favor, mumbling a subtle _That was amazing, Rafa, I told you they’d listen to you._ The whole interaction left a strange knot in Raphael’s stomach. He slogged through the rest of the night, never meeting another’s eye, and padded quietly to his room that morning. He didn’t bother changing, instead going straight to the book and opening it to find...nothing.

At least nothing different from the previous day. The question still hung in the Simon-Smiley’s thoughts and the other apparently thought nothing. Raphael’s stomach sunk even further. He slept like a log and had dreadful dreams of dark caskets and silence.

……..

The following night, all political matters resolved for the moment, Simon left the hotel as soon as the sun set with no clear explanation as to his plans.

Raphael couldn’t even find his scent when he woke later in the evening. The Post-it remained at Chapter XVII, now bending at the edges from the constant smudging of fingers. He traced the words in the thought bubble again and again until the ink stained his skin, and his unneeded breath hitched in his throat.

It couldn’t hurt to have a drink with the fledgling. They did it all the time, spent countless early mornings between their rooms watching Simon’s movies or reading together, Simon sometimes sharing a random joke from his comic book or asking a silly question that made Raphael smile despite himself. They’d cultivated an easy friendship that Raphael secretly cherished. Now Simon wanted more and, though his heart ached for the boy, Raphael could not give him everything. 

He made a decision then and grabbed Lily’s colored pens from the lounge. He drew a little Ace of Heart's symbol above the Raphael-Smiley’s head and colored the "A" purple, white, gray, and black, careful to stay in the lines. Beneath it he drew the heart and colored it all the shades of the rainbow. Finally, he added text in the grumpy vamp’s thought bubble.

_He’s cute and sweet and I hope he likes cake._

Raphael didn’t bother reading anymore and stayed out of his room after Simon’s quiet return later that evening, hopeful but already planning his concession.

……..

Raphael locked himself in his office until nearly noon and then finally gave in, feeling like a dead man walking all the way upstairs. When he opened the door to his room, he immediately noticed the book had been moved to the bed. Inhaling unnecessarily, he chewed away his hopeful smile and slowly flipped the cover to find something that ignited a relieved laugh straight from his heart.

The Simon-Smiley now wore a pink, yellow, and blue T-shirt that proudly stated _Hearts, Not Parts_ and offered the Raphael-Smiley a little triangular piece of cake with a candle, the flame the shape of a heart.

Suddenly, the world had been lifted from his shoulders. 

Raphael sensed Simon behind him before he even turned. When he did make the slow rotation, he beheld the younger vampire awkwardly balancing a tray of red cupcakes alongside a nervous smile. He’d obviously taken care to style his hair and wore one of Raphael’s jackets over a PANda shirt. A streak of red icing clung to his cheek, making him altogether perfectly Simon. 

“So, uh, hungry?” Raphael grinned at the boy’s joke and made the slow journey across the room. Simon, being Simon, did not shut up. “After I, uh, saw the note I woke Lily up so she could help me make these. Apparently she _ships us,_ so she wasn’t too annoyed. They’re mostly blood, I guess, but they smell really good. I’m not too late, am I?” 

Raphael reached the boy and ran a cool thumb over his cheek, coming away with the misplaced icing. He held Simon’s eyes while he tasted it, smiling. “No, Baby, you’re right on time.” Then he took the cupcakes and placed them on the closest table, immediately pulling Simon into a crushing hug. The fledgling gasped at the sudden intrusion and then gripped Raphael just as aggressively, his face buried in the older vampire’s shoulder, taking in his scent. 

“Does this mean you love me too? Because I have a lot more Post-it’s if you want...” 

“...Yes, Idiota. I love you too.”

……..

The Post-it’s continued to make an appearance throughout their relationship- two slow-dancing vampires on their three-month anniversary, Raphael-Smiley in a Santa hat and Simon-Smiley in a Star of David sweater during the holidays, pouty Raphael-Smiley after their first argument (yes he could draw too when it meant earning his partner’s forgiveness,) and two Smiley-vamps snuggling in bed for no reason at all except that they loved each other desperately.

A year later, Simon presented Raphael with another Post-it proposal, this one from a kneeling Simon-Smiley holding a ring and asking a question. 

“What kind of cake do you want for our wedding?” 

Once married, they lined a frame with all of the little yellow drawings, their own personal sunshine, and placed their first photo as husband and husband inside.

This time, both vampires smiled like idiots.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Shadowhunters and the characters within are not mine. Post-its are also not mine, shockingly! The T-shirts referenced in this fic are real and can be found online. Also, the symbol that Raphael draws means Asexual and Homoromantic and "cake" is a common reference to asexuality as well. Simon's colors and t-shirt represent Pansexuality. 
> 
> Author's Note: I woke up this morning with this plot bunny in my head and it wouldn't let me be until I wrote it down. Mostly sweet, fluffy, romantic comedy Saphael for you, but a tiny bit of clave angst. Enjoy and please review!


End file.
